Regulator system



Spt. 14, 1926. 1,599,593

B. H. SMITH REGULATOR SYSTEM Original Filed August 2, .1922

S/rfin wnmzssgs; INVENTOR Patented Sept. 14, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BENJAMIN x. surrx, or swrssvm, rmmvama, assronon 'ro wns'rmonousz nmc'rmc a mUIAc'rUBnro coxrm, A CORPORATION or rmmsnvam.

aaeum'roa sYs-rmr.

continuation of application Serial 10. 578,148, flied August I, 1822. This application filed January 22, 1824. .Serial No. 687,730.

This ap lication is a continuation of application g 1922, as to all matter contained in that application.

My invention relates to regulator systems and it has special relation to load-r lating systems. More specifically state the invention relates to means for automatically regulating the feed of anular material to apparatus in which it 1s to be treated, and

feed motor in accordance with variations in a load u on the mill motor. The feed-motor contro ling means 0 erates with a certain time element, where y the action thereof is delayed so that themill motor. may have opportunity to accommodate itself to one regulating ad ustment before another 1s made.

Briefly, the present invention 15 adapted for use in a ball mill for crushing ores and .that com rises a rotary ball mill proper, a feed mec anism therefor, and a motor-o erated classifier adapted to receive the crus ed ore.

Any control of the feed of the ore to the ball mill in accordance with the load upon the classifier must include a time element device in order that the increased or decreased load upon the ball mill will havean opportunity to correspondingly affect the load upon the classifier. For the most ef-' ficient operation, the ball mill. should be maintained at about six-tenths its capacity. It has been found that the load upon the classifier motor is the only accurate measure of the load upon the ball mill.

' ventlon will be best My understood by reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein the single fi re is a diagrammatlc illustration of circuits and apparatus embodying my invention.

Referring to the drawing, a motor-driven ball mill 1 discharges crushed ore on a traveling belt conveyor 2, which feeds the erial No. 57 9,148, filed August 2,

ore to a classifier 3. The properly crushed ore is discharged from the classifier 3 on a traveling belt conveyor 4, and material requlring further crushing is dischar ed on elevator 5 and returns by means of t e belt conveyor 6 to the ball mill. A classifier motor 7, having a rotor 8 and astator 9, operates the classifier 3 by means of a shaft 10 and the illustrated cooperating mechanism.

The material to be crushed is fed through hopper 12 on the traveling conveyor 6 to the mill 1. The discharge of material from the hopper 12 is regulated by a gate 13 through worm gearing 14, which is driven by the feed motor 15.

The direction of rotation of the feed motor 15 is controlled by means of the reversing switches 16 and 17; these switches being provided with electromagnetic coils 18 and 19, which are energized 1n accordance with the operation of a thermal-watt relay 21.

The thermal-watt relay 21 comprises two bimetallic heat-responsive elements 22 and 23 mounted upon a shaft 32. The heat-responsive elements are coiled in opposite directions to each other so as to have a differential action, the one element opposing-the other upon being heated. Four heating elements 24, 25, 26 and 27 are provided; the first two named being associated with the heat-responsive element 22 and the last two named being associated with the heat-1e sponsive element 23.

The two heating units 24 and 27 are connected in parallel circuit relation, one end of this parallel circuit beingconnected to one terminal of the secondary coil of a current transformer 28. The parallel circuit includes also the secondary coil of a voltage transformer 31, the primary coil of which is connected to the source of ower that energizes the classifier motor middle point of the secondary coil of the transformer 31, a tap is led out which is connected to the two heating elements 25 and 26. These heating elements are connected in parallel circuit relation and to the terminals of the secondary coil of a volt- From the transformer 29, the primary coil of Y maining terminal of the secondary coil of I and 36 to complete circuits through the re- I 19, respectively.

versing switch-controlling magnets 18 and A manually operated switch 38 is provided to control the operation of the feed motor 15 when manual control is desired. Should the contact segments 41, 42 and 43 be moved to the left, contact segment 41 would then engage the two upper contact fingers 39, thus closing the circuit through battery 37 and electromagnet 19. Again, should the contact segments be moved to the right, from the position shown, contact segment 42 would engage the two lower contact fingers 39 and close the circuit through electromagnet 18. In the mid-position, in which it is shown in the drawing, the contact segment 44 engages the contact fingers 43, thus connecting the contact members 34, carried by the lever 33, to the battery 37 and ermit ting control of electromagnets 18 an 19 by the operation of thermal-watt relay21.

The operation of the device when utilizing automatic control is as follows: The ore to be crushed is fed to the ball-mill crusher by means of the feed mechanism, indicated generally at 11. The amount of ore fed to the ball mill 1, and then to the classifier 3, is

controlled in accordance with the position of the motor-operated gate 13. When the mill is first started up, there will be substantially no load on the classifier motor 7 and hence the energization of the thermal-watt relay 21 will be correspondingly weak. The regulator mechanism is adjusted so that its contact members will be so brought into engagement as to energize the proper reversing switch to operate the feed motor 15 to open the gate 13. Since an-appreciable time is required in passing the ore through the ball mill to the classifier, it is important that the engaged contact members should not be separated until the ore reaches the classifier, and the classifier becomes partially loaded.

The bimetallic heat-responsive element 23 is heated in accordance with the watts consumed by the classifier motor 7 andthe opposing heat-responsive element 22 is heated 1n accordance with the energization of the gate motor 15, voltage being applied to the transformer 29 at the same time that it is applied to the motor 15. 7

Since the element 22 is heated only when the gate motor 15 is energized, and'this element opposes the rotation of the shaft 32 as effected by the element 23, the heating of element 22 acts as an anti-hunting device and separates the contact members that are gate 13, controlling the ore admitted to the crusher, may be felt by the change in load upon the classifier motor, it is necessary to have a time element in the operation of the regulator mechanism so that it will not repeat its function, after one operation, until sufiicient time has passed for the ore to reach the classifier. This time lag is obtained by adjusting the bimetallic elements '22 and 23, so that they require a definite amount of heating and cooling to operate the watt-relay contact members.

After the watt-relay contact members areclosed, there is a certain time interval before they will open, this time interval depending upon the rate of heating of the heat-responsive elements. Also, after the watt-relay contact members are separated, there will be a certain time interval, during which the heat-responsive elements are cooling, before the contact members may again close. v

After this time interval has passed, the contact members will be again closed to operate the reversing switches controlling the motor 15 so as to further open the gate 13. This operation of the gate 13 may be repeated two or three times until a ermanent position of the gate, correspon ing to that of normal load upon the ball mill, is reached. Any subsequent operation of the regulator mechanism in the one direction or the other will be initiated by reason of variations in load upon the ball mill, as indicated by the load on the classifier motor.

Modifications in the system, .and in the arrangement and location of parts may be made within the spirit and scope of my invention. and such modifications are intended to be covered by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a regulator system, the combination with a main motor, apparatus operated thereby, feeding mechanism for said apparatus, a motor opera-ting said feeding mechanism, and reversing switches for said feed motor, of means energized in accordance with the operation of said motors and adaptcd to control the operation of said feed motor intermittently. V

2. In' a regulator system, the combination with a motor, apparatus 0 erated thereby, feeding mechanism for sai apparatus, a motoroperating said feeding mechanism and reversing switches for said feed motor, of means or operating said reversing switches for a predetermined period, interrupting the operation of said reversing switches for a predetermined period, and repeating the operation upon the occurrence of variations in load upon the apparatus motor.

3. In a regulator system, the combination with a motor, the load upon which is to be kept substantially constant, of means for controlling the load upon said motor, said control means having a time element in the operation thereof.

'4. The combination with a device, the load upon which is to be keptsubstantially constant. a driving motor therefor, means for controlling such load and an operating motor therefor, of means for governing-the operation of said operating motor, said means functioning in accordance with certain 0perating characteristics of said motors and thereafter introducing a time element into the subsequent operations thereof.

5. In a load-regulator system, the combination with a motor, apparatus operated;

thereby, feed mechanism cooperating with said apparatus, and a motor operating said feed mechanism, of regulating means controlled in accordance with the load upon said apparatus motor and adapted to control said feed motor, said regulating means comprising a thermal-responsive element and heating means therefor energized in accord ance with the operation of said motors.

6. In a load-regulator system, the combination with a motor, apparatus operate-d thereby and adapted to be loaded, feed mechanism cooperating withsaid apparatus, and a motor operating said feed mechanism, of regulating means controlled in accordance with the load upon said a paratus' motor and adapted to control said eed motor, said regulating means comprising a thermal element and heating means therefor energized from said motors and adapted to have a delayed action, whereby a predetermined time elen at will be introduced into the operation of said regulating means.

7. In a load-regulator system, the combination with a motor, apparatus operated thereby and adapted to be loaded, feed mechanism cooperating with said apparatus, and a motor operating said feed mechanism, of thermal regulating means controlled in accordance with the load upon said apparatus motor and adapted to control said feed motor, said means including differentially operative bimetallic members, heating coils therefor respectively energized from said feed motor and said apparatus motor, and contact mechanism governed thereby.

8. In a regulator system, the combination with a mill motor and a feed motor, of means for controlling said feed motor comprising differentially related elements ener gized in accordance with the loads on said mill and feed motors.

9. In a regulator system, the combination with a mill motor and a feed motor, of

means for controlling said feed motor comand means for energizing said wattmeter elements in accordance with the loadson said mill and feed motors.

12. In a regulator system, the combination with a mill motor and a feed motor, ofmeans for controlling said feed motorcomprising differentially related thermal elements, and means for heating said thermal elements in accordance with the loads on said mill and feed motors, said last named means being adapted to cause the regulating system to operate intermittently.

13. In a regulator system, the combination with a mill motor and a feed motor, of means for controlling said feed motor comprising differentially related wattmeter elements, and means for energizing said wattmeter elements in accordance with the loads on said mill and feed motors, said last named means being adapted to cause the regulating system to operate intermittently.

14. In combination, a motor-driven ball crushing mill, a motor-driven classifying mill associated therewith, and a motor-driven feeding mechanism therefor, means for con trolling the feed motor in accordance with the load upon the classifier motor.

15. In combination, a motor driven ball crushing mill, a motor-driven classifying mill for classifying the material discharged from the crushing mill, means for regulatin g the load upon the ball-mill motor in accordance with the load upon the classifier motor.

16. In combination, a motordriven ball crushing mill, a classifying mill for classifying the material discharged from the crnshing mill, a classifier motor therefor, feeding mechanism for controlling the supply of material to said crushing mill, and a feed motor therefor, means actuated in accordance with the load upon said classifier motor for con.- 1

enema 1m it.

llti 

